Kurt Thelen
Michigan State University
Crop & Soil Sciences
Field Crop Advisory Team Alert Vol. 18, No. 18, February 6, 2004

Selecting the right corn hybrid may be the most critical step in planning for your 2004 crop in terms of potential profitability. Table 1 shows a summary of results from the 2003 MSU corn hybrid testing program. Note the large differences between the best and worst hybrids. These results are very typical with what we see each year in terms of the magnitude of difference between the best and worst yielding hybrids in a particular maturity zone. In general terms, all the hybrids entered into the testing program are considered “good” hybrids by their respective companies or they would not enter them in the trial in the first place. Hybrids vary significantly in their ability to adapt to particular environmental conditions. The key to selecting the right hybrid, one that will give you the extra 30, 50, or even 60 bushels per acre, lies in selecting the right genetics for your particular farm. Following is a suggested system for selecting corn hybrids:

• Using the MSU variety trial results, select the top 20 yielding varieties from the maturity zone nearest your farm.

• Identify other performance characteristics important for your farm and evaluate these 20 accordingly, eliminating those that have traits you are not interested in.

• Look for other sources of data/information on these remaining hybrids. Other sources include data from other state testing programs and seed companies. Eliminate those hybrids that are not consistent performers.

• Obtain a unit or two of seed to evaluate the several remaining varieties on test strips on your own farm.

• Incorporate the top performing varieties from these test strips into your rotation.

Because the average life span of a modern corn hybrid is only around three years, the above process must be repeated annually. It may be bothersome to follow, but the payoff can be tremendous in selecting the right genetics for your particular farm conditions. Some other things to consider when evaluating hybrid yield data include:

• One-year results are less reliable than two- or three-year averages and should be interpreted with more caution.

• The “least significant difference” (lsd) value on the bottom of hybrid performance tables indicates the difference in bushels per acre required to confidently evaluate and distinguish hybrid performance.

• There’s no substitute for observing individual characteristics while a hybrid is growing – take advantage of demonstration plantings at test locations.

• Weather conditions can significantly impact the way a given hybrid performs during a particular year – be sure to read up on the local growing conditions when interpreting yield data.

Michigan State University is testing out a new interactive database for the corn hybrid and soybean variety performance trials. The goal of this proto-type program is to provide growers with a tool for evaluating yield trial results. This program is web-based and can be accessed at http://www.css.msu.edu/varietytrials/research/Index.cfm

Table 1. Summary of 2003 MSU hybrid testing performance trials for each maturity zone. Deviation reflects the difference between the highest and lowest yielding hybrid for each respective trial. Results are given as bushels per acre.